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Monday, May 30, 2011

Magnolia is owned by my very dear friend Brooke. Let me just say that Brooke is A-MA-ZING. Not only does she have mad DIY, decorating, and cooking skills, but she is an incredible Mom-trepreneur (Mom Entrepreneur).

Brooke started Magnolia Business Solutions to help women succeed in starting and growing their own businesses. She calls herself a Small Business Coach. I call her My Swift Kick In The Rear. Brooke helped me go from talking about my dream of owning my own business one day, to actually living the dream today.

Come by and see me at Magnolia, and be sure to check out all of her helpful tips on how to become the best Mom-treprenuer you can be!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

- UPDATED -

It has been soooo long since this first post went up and I thought it would be fun to include some updated photos of this mirror and show you how it has been used over the years. Still using it and loving it!

It's hard to tell in these photos (because we haven't had sun outside our windows in DAYS), but she has a really nice shine too.

Here's how I did it!

I'm certainly not the first to make a wood shim mirror, I've seen several versions around blogland. And, I didn't take many pictures of this project because I really wasn't sure it was going to work or even look good. I was pleasantly surprised at the end result, and now wish I would have taken more photos. So bear with me as I try to explain the process with few photos.

piece of wood for the back of the sunburst (mine was a scrap piece of plywood ~ 20x20)

Wood glue

Gorilla glue

Primer spray paint (I used white)

Glaze (I used Lowes Valspar metal & patina glaze in pewter)

paint brush for glaze

hanging hardware (I took the hardware off the round mirror and reused it)

STEP ONE: Lay out your wood shims to figure out a pattern you like. I did stacked groupings of 7 and 5. To get the finished mirror to fit in the space above my mantel it could be no larger than 33" so I had to cut 2" off the thick end of the shims using our trusty compound miter saw. You certainly don't have to trim them if you don't need to.

STEP TWO: Using wood glue, glue the individual shims in your 5 and 7 groupings together. You won't glue every shim together, just your small groupings.

STEP THREE: Once your groups of shims are dry, arrange them back into the exact pattern you want them to be in once finished.

STEP FOUR: Dampen the side of the wood back piece that will be glued to the shims with a wet rag and apply the Gorilla glue (glue instructions say to dampen one side of the object you plan to glue together). Lay the piece of wood glue side down to your wood shims. Place a heavy object on top of the back piece to weigh it down (Gorilla glue needs to be clamped or weighted down to adhere properly). Let dry for 2-3 hours.

STEP FOUR: Flip your sunburst over and prime using white primer spray paint and let dry. This is what mine looked like prior to spraying.

STEP FIVE: Brush on the glaze and let dry. To give it more dimension, apply glaze thicker in some areas and lighter in others. You really can't mess this part up.

STEP SIX: Spray on a coat of clear poly and let dry.

STEP SEVEN: Attach your mirror to the front of the sunburst with Gorilla glue. Use the same method of dampening and weighing down as earlier. Wait 2-3 hours or until dry.

STEP EIGHT: Attach hanging hardware to the back and hang up your new super chic and super cheap mirror! And, try not to spend too much of the rest of your day staring at your new best friend :D

Cost:

My only purchases for this project were the 8 packages of long wood shims at $26. Everything else I already had on hand from other projects.

I'll take it!!! Seeing as how these bad boys can go for well over $300!

Monday, May 23, 2011

When Kristy posted her giveaway I knew I needed to get in on it. My living room has always felt unfinished to me, and has been driving me nuts. This would be the PERFECT chance to get help with it! So, imagine my excitement when I got the email from her saying I had won!!!

Thanks Kristy :D

I asked her to work around some of my existing items as I didn't have an exciting budget to work with. Actually, almost no budget, ha!

Here are some before photos of my living room that I sent to Kristy.

Ugh... that side of the room has always been a pain.

eek no. 1 - The wall with the clocks was empty for a LONG time. I saw a big collection of clocks displayed on a wall in a Pottery Barn magazine and thought that would be my solution. Well, only 3 clocks into it I decided I didn't like it. And, I've never taken them down.

eek no. 2 - I originally made these drapes for my sewing room, but hung them up in here to see what they would look like. Love the drapes, love my zebra chairs, HATE the two together. I'm getting a headache just looking at the picture of it!

I'm SO excited to make the changes Kristy suggested! I'll post pictures as I do!

I've already finished a DIY sunburst mirror (my new BFF) for over my fireplace that turned out WAY better than I expected. Here's a sneak peak.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Here's a little taste of what has been going on at our house. This might help explain why I've not been the quickest when responding to emails.

{craziness no.1}

This one has been keeping me very busy.

But, I think it's finally safe to say that (for the most part) Izzy is potty trained!!!

Man, feels like we got a pay raise getting her out of those diapers. I've been meaning to do a post on this for a while, but kept stopping myself because; a) she still wears pull-ups to bed, and b) I'm afraid to hit up the grocery store or a restaurant without pull-up protection (not because she won't let me know, but because I'm afraid of the toilets and don't know the best way to handle it yet). So, I'm sure that means she's not technically potty trained, but oh well, that's what I'm calling it.

{craziness no.2}

I'm starting my own business.

Oh wow... that's scary to say. I feel like now that I've said it I definitely have to follow through on it. My hands are even getting clammy typing this!

I've always talked about how one day I'd love to have my own business designing and sewing crib bedding. And, that has pretty much been all that has happened... just talk. And lying in bed thinking about what I would call it, what everything would look like, on and on until I'd finally fall asleep.

But, now it's actually happening and I'm so excited!!! And a little terrified at the same time :) I've been spending almost every free minute working on getting the details in place, and hopefully it won't be too long before I can consider myself up and running.

I'll definitely keep you all in the loop, and can't wait to see what you guys think!

{craziness no.3}

Mike has been SWAMPED studying for his CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst). I don't know how he does it. I'd be rocking in a corner right about now if I had to go through all of the material he's been looking at. So, between him studying and me getting a business in order, things have been a little stressful.

{craziness no.4}

A little over two years ago (right before Isabelle was due) we found a lump in Ruffino's cheek. Took him to the vet and it turned out the lump was malignant cancer. DEVISTATED us. A little background - We brought Ruffino home from a shelter one week after our wedding, which was also one week and a day after Mike's mom passed away from cancer. You read that right, we lost his mom the day before our wedding. So, Ruffino is very important to us as he helped Mike with the loss of his mom. I strongly believe that animals can be healing. So, after much praying and a successful surgery, Ruffino was cancer free!

Wel, this past week we found a second lump in his neck and have been sick with worry. Not only worried about possibly loosing him, but also, how will we explain this to Izzy. She loves him so much! Yesterday we went to the vet and were ecstatic to hear that everything is fine, no cancer. Turned out to be a fat tumor (apparently common in some dogs) and is of no harm. Thank you Lord!

So, that's a little taste of what's been going on over here. Now that some of the stress is past us I can get back to fiddling around the house. Oh let me tell you, there are so many things I've been wanting to do around here! I'll keep you updated as I tackle them!

But, before I do that I need a vacation and a stiff drink. Unfortunately this might be as close as I get to that :D

Monday, May 9, 2011

I LOVE this pillow.
It combines all of the things I'm loving right now - burlap, ruffles, and chevron.
Yummy :D

I'll show you how to make your own!

Here's what you'll need:

burlap

fabric for ruffles

piping (I used pre-made)

pillow stuffing (or pillow form if you'd like)

scissors

pins

needle and thread

sewing machine

regular and piping foot attachments

STEP ONE: Cut out 2 pieces of burlap for the base of the pillow (one for the front & one for the back) in the dimension you want. Leaving yourself a 1/2 inch seam allowance on all sides.

STEP TWO: Rip or cut fabric for ruffles. I like to rip my fabric because I like the look it gives me. My strips were about 1.5 inches wide by double the height of my pillow.

STEP THREE: Stitch ruffles using your sewing machine set to the longest stitch length. Leave yourself long threads and the beginning and end, and then pull one of the threads to create the ruffle. I used white thread so it would show up in the picture. Use a thread that matches your fabric.

STEP FOUR: Place and pin ruffles to front of pillow. Machine stitch in place.

STEP FIVE: Pin your piping into place on the front piece of fabric, going over any ruffles at the edges. When you get to the corners, cut a series of slits into the piping to allow it to curve nicely. Using your sewing foot for piping, sew piping into place. Overlap the beginning and end of the piping.

STEP SIX: Sew the back piece in place. The easiest way I've found to do this without messing up the piping is to turn the pillow around so that the wrong side of the front of the pillow is facing up. That way you can stitch directly over your previous stitches, using them as a guide. Leave yourself enough of an opening to turn the pillow right side out and stuff. Trim any excess.

STEP SEVEN: Turn right side out and stuff. I chose to use stuffing because the dimensions I wanted my pillow to be were not available in a form.

STEP EIGHT: Hand stitch opening close (sorry, I realized after the fact that I didn't take a picture of this) and enjoy!